


the bodyguard

by starkly



Series: you've been thunderstruck [18]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Celebrities, M/M, Major Character Injury, Protectiveness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:55:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28258044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starkly/pseuds/starkly
Summary: Tony’s not used to people trying to kill him. Yeah, he’s a celebrity, but he’s a movie star. He doesn’t do the kinds of things that normally get people killed, even when he ends up starring in a fantastically bad film. And he’d always thought having a bodyguard in his line of work was kind of cheesy, but there’s a first time for everything.
Relationships: Tony Stark/Thor
Series: you've been thunderstruck [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2064666
Comments: 3
Kudos: 53





	the bodyguard

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for NaNoWriMo 2020 and [posted here](https://aleator.tumblr.com/post/635652386146385920) on my tumblr writing blog. This fic was proofread before being uploaded here but is otherwise unchanged.
> 
> Prompts taken from the AU-gust 2020 challenge list on Twitter. Day Eighteen: Bodyguard AU.

Tony’s not used to people trying to kill him. Yeah, he’s a celebrity, but he’s a movie star. He doesn’t do the kinds of things that normally get people killed, even when he ends up starring in a fantastically bad film. But this is different. He’s due to testify in court for a trial that could put several important, big-name industry folks behind bars, and apparently that’s enough to get people trying to kill him.

He’d always thought having a bodyguard in his line of work was kind of cheesy, but there’s a first time for everything, apparently.

The guy he hires looks a little like a hippie but he comes with great recommendations, so Tony hopes those reviews are legit. It’s his life in this guy’s hands, after all. This guy’s very lovely, probably lethal hands. Tony shouldn’t be thinking about those hands as anything other than killing machines. But it’s hard. They’re nice hands.

At first it feels like he’s being followed around everywhere, which he is, so that makes sense. But it’s also really annoying. It’s like he’s hired someone to be his friend but neither of them actually want to be friends. His bodyguard, Thor, is a nice enough guy, but he’s painfully professional. He doesn’t even laugh at Tony’s hilarious jokes.

“Maybe your jokes just aren’t funny,” his agent, Pepper, says after he’s complained to her over the phone for fifteen minutes.

“Not true. They’re hilarious,” Tony reminds her. Even Pepper laughs at some of his jokes sometimes.

“If you hate having a bodyguard so much, why don’t you just go into witness protection or something?” Pepper suggests.

“I can’t do that, I’m in the middle of shooting a movie!” Tony protests. “You’re my agent, you know that.”

“I do know that,” she replies patiently. “But I’d rather you stop shooting a movie than someone shoot you. It’ll be hard to be your agent if you’re dead.”

“Probably wouldn’t stop you.”

“Nobody would blame you if you didn’t turn up to the charity dinner,” she says, which is probably the first time she’s ever told him _not_ to go to an event. “You already donated the money, so we can still publicize that.”

“I’m not going to skip the charity dinner. That’s my first public appearance in weeks.”

“Then I guess you’ll have to have fun bringing your new bodyguard as your plus one.”

Tony sighs and realizes that yes, he’ll probably be stuck with just Thor as his dinner date. But at least he’ll get to be out and about having fun instead of hiding in his home.

At the dinner, people only want to ask him about the attempt on his life. Which sounds exciting, but most of what Tony remembers is the soft sound of a bullet whizzing by and then someone throwing him down onto the ground. It’s not very interesting to talk about. But society types can gossip about anything indefinitely, so he mostly just sits there and lets them prattle on while he nods occasionally.

Eventually he manages to escape and sneaks over to the bar to get himself something stronger than the champagne that came with dinner. As he’s nursing a whiskey a voice behind him says,

“If you want to leave, you can pretend I made you go.”

He startles, embarrassingly so, nearly spilling his drink. “Jeez, you can’t scare a guy who’s got professional killers after him like that!”

Thor steps out from behind him so Tony can see him, looking faintly amused. “My apologies. I thought you knew I was there.”

“Well I did not. Because you are strangely light on your feet for someone so…”

Thor smiles politely at him while he tries to think of a way to finish that sentence, and when he doesn’t come up with anything Thor just carries on with the conversation.

“I mean it, if you’d like to go. I can declare something a security risk,” Thor offers. “So you can save face or whatever you’re worried about.”

It’s a strangely observant and sweet offer, and Tony stares at him. Long enough that Thor shrugs and adds,

“Or not.”

“No! No, actually, that’d be great,” Tony finally says, knocking back the rest of his whiskey in one go and setting aside the glass on the bar so he can stand up. “Uh, oh no, I feel unsafe here in this public location. Bodyguard, help.”

And finally, for the first time, Thor laughs. Actually laughs at some dumb joke that Tony made. Thor’s smile widens as he laughs and Tony just about melts at the sight of it.

After that, Thor starts to soften. He smiles more, laughs at a few more of Tony’s jokes, and Tony feels less weird about having him around. He takes Thor with him whenever he goes out, but nothing perilous ever happens, so he starts to wonder if hiring a bodyguard was just going overboard. Maybe everything will be totally fine…

...were always famous last words.

The bastards try to get him one night as he’s coming out of a crowded nightclub. Nothing looks out of the ordinary to him, but as he’s waiting for someone to pull his car around he’s suddenly being pushed down to the ground. He yelps in alarm until he realizes it’s just Thor, then he shouts again more urgently as he sees blood on him.

The crowd is running and yelling, panicked, and people are trying to dive for cover or call emergency services. Thor is still draped over him, shielding him with his body, but Tony thinks that might be because he’s incapable of moving.

“Thor? Holy shit, Thor,” Tony says with increasing intensity as he shakes Thor’s shoulder. “Hey, buddy! Don’t do this to me.”

At some point in all the commotion the EMTs and cops appear on the scene, sirens blaring, and Tony and Thor are carted away in an ambulance. Tony keeps insisting that he’s fine, they need to worry about Thor, forget about him. Nobody listened, of course, and they ended up taking him to his own hospital room no matter how many times he insisted the blood on his suit wasn’t from him.

They check him over thoroughly, even though Tony’s antsy and restless. He keeps asking about Thor, but they only give him vague answers no matter how many demands he makes. What’s the point of being a famous movie star if nobody’s so awestruck at your presence they listen to everything you say?

Eventually they declare him fit to be released, which he could have told them from the start, and he immediately demands to see Thor. He apparently can’t even do that so he’s stuck waiting even more, feeling sick to his stomach.

He falls asleep in one of the uncomfortable hospital chairs at some point. Pepper had arrived at the hospital sometime earlier, panicking even more than Tony had, insisting he should have gone into witness protection for real and that she’s canceling every plan of his until this trial is over, but she must have taken a Valium or something because she dozes off in the chair next to him eventually too.

Finally a doctor approaches them to let Tony know that Thor is stable and has requested to see him, which they’ll allow as long as he doesn’t excite Thor too much. Tony is up on his feet in a flash, following the doctor to Thor’s hospital room.

Thor is awake and sitting up in bed, which is a good sign. Tony awkwardly enters the room, hands clasped behind his back.

“The bullet didn’t hit any major organs,” Thor offers when Tony doesn’t say anything right away.

“What about minor organs?” Tony asks.

Thor laughs, but he immediately winces and clutches at his side as the action pulls on his stitches. “Don’t make me laugh.”

“Sorry,” Tony says, finally taking a seat in the chair beside Thor’s bed. He debates what to say for a few moments longer, then blurts out,

“I never would’ve hired a bodyguard if I’d thought they would actually _die_.”

Thor gives him an amused look. “Unfortunately for you, it turns out I happen to like you.”

Rolling his eyes, Tony points out, “You had to do that, I’m paying you.”

“To take a bullet for you? You’re not paying me that much.”

“Oh. Should I be?”

Thor laughs weakly again, settling back against his pillows with a weary sigh. “I did not take the bullet for the money, Stark.”

Finally it starts to click in Tony’s head, and he scoots his chair a little closer, cautiously reaching for Thor’s hand. Thor lets him take it, and they hold hands on the hospital bed.

“You’re okay?” Thor asks, trying to look Tony over without either of them moving.

“Yeah,” Tony says with a warm smile. “Thanks to you.”


End file.
